The senseconsciousnesses are like a dumb person who can not talk but who can see. They see everything completely, but can not say that things are good, bad, like this, or like that. The conceptualmind is like someone who is really good at talking—a real ‘sweet-talker’—but who is completely blind and can not see anything at all. The mind consciousness does not actually see forms.

To give another example, when the mind is distracted by an object that provokes intense desire, like a really attractive person, if we are just thinking about that person, then even if our eyes are looking at the cup, we will not be thinking about what the cup is like, and whether it is good or bad. Even if our eyes are seeing the cup, our mind might be daydreaming about this person very vividly, so that even if something were to happen in front of us we would not really notice.

This mentalconsciousness can only have one thought at a time. The senseperceptions can all arise at the same time. If you go to watch a movie at the cinema, you will see the film and hear the soundtrack, and then if there is a woman nearby wearing perfume, you might smell that, and you might also be eating popcorn. Then if someone touches you from behind there is also the sense of touch. So all five are happening at the same time. But the conceptualmind can not experience two thoughts simultaneously. For example, we can not think “I like it” and “I don’t like it” at the same time. But the conceptualmind is changing from one moment to the next. And it moves very quickly. Together with the eyes, it sees forms. Together with the ears, it hears sounds. Together with the nose, it smells odours. And it is moving about from one moment to the next. It is like a crazy monkey moving around inside a house with five windows. It is moving about so quickly that if you look from the outside it can seem as if there are five monkeys, but there is only one.